Wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones, are becoming increasingly prevalent amongst users of all types. In many societies, nearly every adult, and many children, carry cellular telephones everywhere they go. In addition to enabling more rapid and persistent communications, cellular telephones are also considered by many to provide added benefits relating to safety and personal security.
For example, in some circumstances in which an individual feels threatened or requires emergency assistance, the individual can place a telephone call to police or another individual in order to request assistance. In such circumstances, many modern cellular communication systems are further able to provide location information, such as GPS coordinates, such that the location of the individual requiring assistance can be rapidly and accurately identified. However, such a telephonic communication may provide limited information concerning the emergency situation to the call recipient. It may also be difficult to complete a call in some emergency situations.
The ongoing revolution in wireless communication technologies has recently carried over to audio and video technologies. Several cellular telephones on the market today have built-in video, photo, and audio recording capabilities. Several computers with built-in digital cameras and other electronic digital recording devices—such as digital cameras and camcorders—may also have “wi-fi” or other wireless communication capabilities (collectively with cellular telephones, the “Wireless Device”). Once an audio or video file (such as, by way of examples, .JPG files for digital photographs, .WAV files for audio files, and .MPG files for video files) (“A/V Content”) is created from such a Wireless Device, these files can be wirelessly and electronically transmitted to one or more recipient locations, such as a personal computer, an Internet email account, or other Internet website. To do so, however, a user is typically required to undertake the additional step or steps of sending such files to the Recipient, such as by manually entering one or more e-mail addresses or designated recipients using the Wireless Device's keypad or other character entry mechanism, and then pressing a key or series of keys to send the transmission.
The capture of A/V Content can also be achieved by devices without integrated wireless or Internet capability. Examples of such devices include a digital camera, video camera, audio recorder, or other digital recording device. However the capture and subsequent transmission of such A/V Content to a Recipient, has traditionally involved three or more separate operations. In the first operation, the user of the electronic device creates A/V Content by capturing and/or recording A/V Content, which is then saved in a digital memory integrated within the electronic device (e.g., a solid state memory card or onboard RAM). In the second operation, the user of the electronic device is then required to upload the A/V Content to a system having communication capabilities to electronically send such files to a Recipient, such as the user's personal computer with Internet access. Finally, the user can then transmit A/V Content via the Internet to designated recipients, either via email or by uploading A/V Content to a dedicated website.
While such existing technologies permit the communication of digital A/V Content, there are some circumstances in which it may be beneficial to enable the rapid and automated transmission of A/V Content from a portable communications device to one or more designated recipients. For example, if an individual feels a threat to his or her personal security, it may be desirable to enable the user to instantly capture and transmit audio, image and/or video data portraying a potential assailant or suspicious individual, in order to deter any further threatening activity. It may further be desirable to provide security and emergency services via a readily-available device having wireless communications capabilities, such as a standard cellular telephone.